March 2013

Henry Wiencek
DSU will present journalist, historian and author Henry Wiencek in a guest lecture at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 2 in the Room 309 of the Bank of America Building on campus.
Mr. Wiencek is an acclaimed journalist, historian and author. His 1999 book The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White won the National Book Critics Award. His 2003 book An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves and the Creation of America won the Los Angeles Times Book Award for History.
His most recent work Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and his Slaves (2012) has spawned a lively debate on the founding fathers and the legacy of slavery in America, and will be the subject of his guest lecture at DSU.
The guest lecture is co-sonsored by the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the Department of History, Political Science and Philosophy.

Ed Kee
The Dean’s Seminar Series of the College of Agriculture and Related Science will feature Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee as a guest speaker on the topic “Delaware Agriculture Today: The Intersection of Science, Policy and 200 Years of Tradition” at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 4 in room 111 of the Ag Annex Building on campus.
Secretary Kee, a noted agriculture historian, will highlight the growth and successes of the First State’s farming history from peach orchards to the modern poultry industry.
He will discuss the accomplishments of Delaware’s No. 1 industry – with an $8 billion economic value – that the challenges still ahead.

The DSU Concert Choir performed for the first time ever before the Delaware Senate in its Legislative Hall chamber on March 26. The choir also performed for the state House of Representatives.

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It was Delaware State University Day at the state Legislative Hall on March 26, which was marked by performances by the DSU Concert Choir and a visit by DSU President Harry L. Williams along other DSU officials and alumni.
The DSU Concert Choir has annually performed for the House of Representatives in its chamber, but on this day for the first time ever, the choir also sang for the Delaware Senate in a separate performance in that chamber as well. The choir performed the songs “Steal Away,” “A Witness,” and “Rise, Shine for the Light is Coming.”
For images of the DSU Day, click on the below slide show of photos:

The Weight Management Strategies Conference will be held in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center on the DSU campus.

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Delaware State University’s College of Education, Health & Public Policy will host a Weight Management Strategies Conference on April 5-6 in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center.
Under the theme of “Obesity doesn’t have to be a Delaware Epidemic,” the conference will include health care professionals, community advocates, service providers and members of the public for an educational event that will focus on strategies for overcoming the First State’s obesity problem.
The conference is taking place during National Public Health Week.
In 2011, about 29 percent of adults in Delaware were obese, according to a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America’s Health. This earns the state 19th place among all states and Washington, D.C., for the percentage of obese adults, those with a body mass index of 30 or higher, in a report from the two organizations called “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2012.”
According to the study, if the state’s obesity rate continues on its current path, 65 percent of Delaware adults will be obese by 2030, earning the First State third place for the highest obesity rate.
Dr. Frederick K. Asinor, dean of DSU’s College of Education, Health and Public Policy, says that the level of obesity in Delaware is unacceptable because this is a disease that something can be done about.
“It is a consequence of our choices. And many of those choices are made passively, in a comfortable but rigor-free environment,” Dr. Asinor said. “So we can prevent obesity by excising and reducing our fat, sugar and salt intake knowing that these are products that are linked directly to obesity, heart disease, cancer and stroke, among other killer diseases.”
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The conference is designed to facilitate the creation and the implementation of weight management strategies for communities, companies or organizations that reduce the incidence and prevalence of obesity.
The conference will include as a keynote speaker Dr. Calvin B. Johnson, founder and president of the Altre Strategic Solutions Group, LLC, and the 24th Secretary for Health of Pennsylvania, as well as special guest of honor Dr. J Nadine Gracia, deputy assistant secretary for Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The conference will also feature a number of health and social work professionals from the Mid-Atlantic Region, including:
Hank Cardello – director of Obesity Solutions, Hudson Institute
Dr. Donna M. Christensen –member of the U.S. House of Representatives (U.S. Virgin Islands), Congressional Black Caucus’ Health Braintrust
Dr. Jodi Dampeer-Moore – associate professor, DSU Dept. of Nursing
Dr. Susan M. Gross – research associate, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Dr. Erica M. Jackson – associate professor, DSU Dept. of Public & Allied Health Sciences
Dr. Tina L. Jordan – professor, DSU Dept. of Social Work
Rich Killingworth – chief of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Del. Division of Public Health
Dr. Giridhar Mallya – director of Policy and Planning, Philadelphia Dept. of Health
Megan A. Maloney – visiting professor of movement science, DSU Dept. of Public & Allied Health Sciences
Mary Kate Mouser – executive director, Nemours Health and Prevention Services
Terry M. Murphy – president and CEO, Bayhealth Medical Center
Dr. Karyl Thomas Rattay – director of the Del. Division of Public Health
Dr. Margo Wooten – director of Nutrition Policy, Center for Science in the Public Interest

Ain’t Misbehaving cast – (l-r) Paul Maniweather, LeAndrea Johnson, Tyrone Johnson Jr., Brandi Hydleburg, Deryl Wynn, Jazmin Salberrios and Andrew Hazzard.
Delaware State University’s Theatre Program will presents “Ain’t Misbehaving,” the 1978 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, at 7:30 p.m. nightly Thursday and Friday, April 4-5 in the Education and Humanities Theatre on campus.
The production is free and open to the public.
The musical showcases DSU students Brandi Hydleburg, Andrew Hazzard, Tyrone Ashley Jr., Paul Meniweather, Deryl Wynn, Jazmin Salberrios and LeAndrea Johnson
The production is a salute to the Harlem Renaissance stride piano musician Thomas “Fats” Waller and features a number of his songs such as Ain’t Misbehavin’, Honeysuckle Rose, T’ain’t Nobody’s Business, Black and Blues, and many more.
The production’s director is Dr. Shirlyn Henry Brown and the music director is Dr. David Tolley.

Delores and Donald Blakey, Patricia Randolph, Gov. Jack Markell, Ruth Shelton and DSU President Harry L. Williams get together following the Harriet Tubman Progam at the Old State House in Dover on March 1.

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Dolores Blakey, DSU alumna, portrayed Harriet Tubman during the program.
During an event in which Gov. Jack Markell signed a proclamation making March 10 Harriet Tubman Day in Delaware, DSU alumni represented themselves well through music and dramatic presentations.
As a kickoff to 10 days of events celebrating the historic contributions of Harriet Tubman as the conductor of the Underground Railroad -- which coursed through the First State -- the proclamation signing was part of program at the Old State House in Dover.
During the program DSU alumni Donald Blakely (’58) gave some relevant black history of the Central Delaware area; and his wife and alumna Dolores Blakey (’62) portrayed the conductor of the Underground Railroad.
The Blakeys were joined later by DSU alumni Ruth Shelton ('96) and Pat Randolph ('69) as part of the Del Del Interdenominational Choir and gave a music selection during the program.

Due to the predicted Winter Storm Saturn that is to hit Delaware on March 6-7, the Thursday, March 7 guest lecture by Dr. David A. Pensak, founder of the Pensak Innovation Institute, has been reschedule for 6 p.m. Thursday, April 25 in Parlor C of the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center.
Dr. Pensak will present the same guest lecture he had planned for this week, "Fear is the Biggest Impediment to Innovation."
The April 25 event will be free and open to the public.

Dr. Constant D. Beugre
Dr. Constant D. Beugre, chairperson and professor in the DSU Department of Management, recently published his fourth book – Managing Organizational Behavior in an African Context.
The book discusses management and organization science theories as they apply within the social, cultural and economic contexts in which organizations operate in Africa. As the first organizational behavior book to cover the entire continent, it uses the findings of organization behavior studies to establish a conceptual foundation and then explores how those topics apply in Africa's unique business environment.
This integrative framework allows students and scholars to connect organizational phenomena in Africa with those in other parts of the globe.
Dr. Beugre is also working currently on two other books – Social Entrepreneurship: Managing the Creation of Social Value and A Science of Neuro-Organizational Behavior: Understanding and Using Your Brain at Work.

DSU President Harry Williams (center) along with his family join the other participants -- members of Iota Phi Theta, the DSU women's track team, the DSU Alumni Association, as well as members of Dover High School -- of a 14-mile relay run in celebration of Harriet Tubman and the path she took through Delaware to free slaves from the south.

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DSU President Harry L. Williams passes the batons to the first two runners -- DSU students Malik Bazemore and Markland Turner -- to symbolically launch the 14-mile relay run commemorating the path Harriet Tubman took through Delaware to bring slaves to freedom.
Delaware State University gave strong representation at the final day of the “Ten for the Tenth” celebration of Harriett Tubman as the DSU First Family was joined by members of DSU fraternity Iota Phi Theta, the DSU Women’s Track Team, the DSU Alumni Association as well as members of Dover High School for the commemorative relay run event in Kent County.
DSU President Harry L. Williams, along with his wife Dr. Robin Williams and their two sons Austin and Gavin, met the group at Brecknock Park in Camden where the participants gathered to be transported to Sandtown, Del., the starting point of the 14-relay run.
Dr. Williams spoke to the group, commending them on their involvement in keeping the memory of Harriet Tubman alive and talking about the significance of the Underground Railroad's "Moses," and then symbolically passed the batons to the first two runners.
The DSU president ran part of the relay, making the event part of his normal daily run. Dr. Williams is known for beginning each day early in the morning by running five miles around the campus.
The final day of the Ten for the Tenth commemoration marked the 100th anniversary of Harriet Tubman's death, who died on March 10, 1913 in Auburn, N.Y. Ms. Tubman is known for her daring resistance to slavery as the “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, through which she helped countless slaves escape from their southern captivity to achieve their freedom.
Delaware was particularly significant in Ms. Tubman’s journey, as the Underground Railroad came through the First State through Sandtown and Camden and on northward. A similar event was also held in New Castle County, with both events tracking the newly established Delaware Harriet Tubman Byway.
The primary organizers of the final day event in Kent County were Penny Marshall, a retired U.S. public defender, and her parents and DSU alumni Frank and Mary Marshall.